Many conventional insect-poisons, such as the carbamates, the pyrethrins and the chlorinated hydrocarbons, although highly lethal to numerous insects, cannot be used indiscriminately. Despite their value for protecting foodstuffs, feeds, textiles and plants, these insect-poisons tend to remain indefinitely in the environment after being used. They are not naturally degraded, and by remaining undegraded in the environment, their lingering residues tend to find their way into foods intended for human or cattle consumption. Moreover, because apparently many of these insect-poisons are not quantitatively degraded by mammalian organisms, their use can lead to the indirect injury of humans or other mammals. Thus, the decision to use many conventional insect-poisons cannot be made without some significant reservations. There has been a need, therefore, for effective insect-poison compositions having a reduced tendency to linger in the environment, to contaminate food and to resist degradation in mammals.